


Love is Stored in the Cowboy Hat

by BearWithAHat



Series: Cowboy Lesteban [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Bronc Riding, Cowboy Hats, Equestrian, First Aid, Fluff, Horseback Riding, Injury, M/M, Rodeo Competitions, horse girls au, in particular lance strolls cowboy hat :), mother hen esteban
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26152231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BearWithAHat/pseuds/BearWithAHat
Summary: Esteban takes care of his cowboy after a bad fall.
Relationships: Esteban Ocon/Lance Stroll
Series: Cowboy Lesteban [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898983
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	Love is Stored in the Cowboy Hat

**Author's Note:**

> I felt it was time for some more cowboy lesteban :o) I love rodeo and I love f1 so the two of them together is just *chefs kiss*. 
> 
> this is like a sequel to the last cowboy lesteban fic but you dont have to read the first one for this to make sense. ive also decided that they all must have funny titles related to cowboy hats hehe
> 
> for anyone who doesn't know, the sport lance does in this fic is ranch bronc riding, where the goal is to stay on a bucking horse for eight seconds. you have to hold onto a rope rein and either a leather strap called a night latch or another rope around the front of the saddle. its really fun to watch so if you're reading this and have no idea what's happening, maybe watch a few rounds of it online lol :o)

When your boyfriend participated in a dangerous sport, it was a good habit to have some form of first aid kit on you just in case things didn't go too well. That was what Esteban had learned after a year and a half of being with Lance, his boyfriend who he followed all across the world from rodeo to rodeo.

Lance always insisted he was fine and that he didn't need any care, and most of the time he was right, but Esteban was always concerned for him and knew it was better to be overly cautious. Watching Lance ride bucking horses was definitely exciting and entertaining, simply in that he loved watching the Canadian do anything and he looked good on a horse. Still, Esteban always felt a little worried whenever Lance fell off or jumped off the side of the horse after eight seconds. At least Lance had the sense to wear a vest, which gave Esteban a little peace of mind.

Most of the time, Lance stayed on and rode successfully, intentionally getting off the side of the bucking horse after he had heard the buzzer go off indicating that eight seconds had passed. Thus, he normally didn't have any injuries other than a few bruises and maybe some soreness. Even someone as skilled as him had their share of falling off too early though, and nobody who stuck with bronc riding managed to avoid the occasional injury. 

Esteban always dutifully cleaned up his cuts and bruises after a bad fall. He would take Lance to wherever they were staying for the week, or home if they were actually in the area, and insist on patching his cowboy up. The Frenchman would make Lance take a hot, relaxing bath after every rodeo too, regardless of if he had fallen off. Lance appreciated it despite him saying Esteban was being too worried.

It was just what Esteban felt he had to do. If he didn't take care of his boyfriend, who he loved and was incredibly happy with, then he would have felt like a bad partner. Besides, spoiling Lance was his favourite thing to do.

His other favourite thing to do was watch Lance when he was doing what he loved. Esteban always sat at the rail of the arena at every rodeo, watching Lance from the minute he was saddling a horse in the chute to the moment he left the arena. Lance always gave him a wide-eyed look before each ride, and Esteban would smile comfortingly back at him.

Esteban loved when Lance competed at events close to their home in Canada because it meant that they would get to go to their own home after it was over, not to a hotel or inn. The railing at a rodeo just a short drive from home was where he found himself one cool summer evening, wrapping his jacket around himself and waiting for Lance's time to ride. Although watching the other competitors ride was entertaining even to his untrained eye, Esteban truly enjoyed watching Lance ride the most.

When he saw Lance step up to the side of the chute to get ready for his round, Esteban's interest was peaked and he watched as Lance began to put his saddle on the horse in the chute. The horse was a stocky paint stallion, and he tossed his head around and eyed the crowd while Lance tightened the girth.

Esteban didn't know a ton about horses or rodeo sports in general, but he did know that the energetic horses usually acted up in the chute. It wasn't a surprise to him then when the horse had a hard time standing still as Lance put his halter on and climbed into the saddle, gripping his rein and sitting back.

One of the men in the arena pulled the gate open when Lance nodded that he was ready, and the horse surged forward out of the chute. Throwing his head down, the horse gave a powerful buck and proceeded to keep kicking his heels up with the same intensity without missing a beat.

At first, Lance was a bit unsettled in the saddle by the first buck. He recovered his balance until the mustang threw his weight to the left side and crow hopped sharply, and Lance couldn't stop himself from dropping his rein and slipping over the horse's left side. As he fell to the ground, the toe of his boot got caught in the stirrup and Lance ended up getting dragged along the ground for a split second as the horse continued bucking. His shoulders hit the dirt with a thud every time the horse bucked, and Esteban felt his heart just about stop for a moment.

A hangup during a rodeo was never good, and even though Lance got unstuck from the stirrup a second later and stood up quickly, Esteban was worried for him and rushed over to the backside of the arena as quickly as possible. 

Making his way through crowds of people who gave him odd looks, Esteban found Lance waiting for someone to hand him his saddle and halter once the horse was caught. The Canadian had dirt streaked across his cheeks and all over his shirt, and Esteban was sure he could see a few scrapes on his face in the dark lighting. Even his hat, which had come off long before he did, was a mess and looking rather beat up.

"Are you okay? That looked bad, you fell off early and got dragged for a few steps. I have some things in the truck to fix you up, love, what hurts?" Esteban asked in a troubled voice as Lance took his saddle and halter from one of the volunteers. The two of them began walking to where they were parked; there was no reason to stay if Lance didn't finish the ride and they both wanted to get home.

"I'm fine, babe, I'll probably just be a little slow to get out of bed tomorrow. It could have ended much worse than it did," Lance huffed as he carried his equipment. He looked straight ahead and seemed more upset that he fell off early than concerned over his injuries, although Esteban could tell by the crack in his voice that Lance was still somewhat shaken up by it.

It wasn't unusual for Lance to deny that he wasn't completely unscathed, and Esteban was adamant that his boyfriend was going to let him take care of him. The guy had gotten dragged across the ground by a wild horse, and there was no way that Esteban wasn't going to check him for injuries after that.

"Lance, I may not know a ton about riding horses but I do know that that fall was worse than usual and there is no way that you didn't get hurt from that. So whether you like it or not, I _am_ going to take care of you and you _will_ go to a doctor if things look bad," Esteban firmly insisted.

Lance blushed and peeked at Esteban from underneath the brim of his dusty hat, his lips curling into a small smile. "Alright," he murmured, "I can see that I won't be able to convince you not to."

Esteban nodded in satisfaction and followed Lance to their truck, watching as he threw the saddle and halter in the back. He didn't seem to be limping at all, so at least there was something Esteban could rule out of the list of injuries that Lance could have sustained.

"Where does it hurt?" Esteban murmured, stepping close to Lance and tenderly putting a hand on his hip.

"My shoulders hurt a lot, so does my back. It doesn't feel like I really damaged anything that badly, just super sore, and I can feel the back of my shirt getting stained with blood so I'm assuming there's some carnage back there," Lance groaned, "and I don't even want to know how bad my face looks."

Esteban pulled him to sit in the car and turned on the overhead lights, getting a closer look at Lance's face. In the back of his mind, he was impressed with how Lance still managed to look cute even after getting his ass handed to him by a rodeo horse in a matter of three seconds. He could see that there were scrapes on his cheeks, and the dirt streaked across his cheeks and nose made it look worse than it was.

"There's some cuts on your face. I'll have to clean you up at home to take care of it, and I'll take a look at your back there too," Esteban reassured him. He leaned over to press a gentle kiss to Lance's lips, and he felt Lance relax against him.

"I'll drive home, alright?" Esteban whispered, gazing at him with loving sympathy.

"Thanks, you're the best," Lance sighed. He leaned against the window of the passenger seat as Esteban drove them home, a pouty look on his face and his hat in his hands. 

Esteban let him sit in silence as they drove, knowing that he was probably disappointed from how the night had gone. The Frenchman loved his little cowboy, and as much as he knew Lance loved the sport of ranch bronc riding, sometimes Esteban wished that he would go back to something a little more tame. Lance had told him all about how he did other western riding sports in the past that _didn't_ involve falling off that frequently, and Esteban would love to see him return to a safer sport.

When they got home, Esteban hurried Lance into the house and made him sit down on the couch in the living room. He told Lance to stay put and got him a glass of water from the kitchen before wandering into the bathroom where they kept medical supplies and medicines alike. With a few things in hand, Esteban sat down next to Lance and got a better look at his face.

"I don't think your face is scratched up as badly as it looks. Let me clean you up," Esteban murmured. He gently wiped the dirt from Lance's cheeks and nose with a wet cloth, shushing him quietly when Lance winced in pain. With the streaks of dirt gone and in the better light, Esteban could see that there were a few shallow scrapes.

"So I'm not permanently scarred then?" Lance joked, giving Esteban a weak smile as he sorted through the pile of medical supplies that he had brought out to find a cream.

"No, honey, your beautiful face will be fine in a few days time," Esteban cooed. He found what he was looking for and squeezed some of it onto his fingers. Lance grimaced and did his best to sit still while Esteban rubbed a soothing cream onto the scrapes on his cheeks

Esteban made him turn around and take his dirtied shirt off so he could get a look at his back. Running his hand softly over Lance's back and shoulders, he didn't feel anything indicative of a more serious problem and saw the beginnings of some bruising, which wasn't exactly surprising. There were a few scrapes on his shoulder blades, responsible for the spots of blood on the back of his shirt.

"It looks like you're just going to be bruised and very sore for a bit. Does it hurt to move your shoulders or anything? Like do you feel any sharp pain?" Esteban asked. He took another damp cloth and carefully wiped at the cuts he saw, wishing he could do more to help with the inevitable bruises and blemishing that was starting to appear across Lance's shoulder blades.

"No, there's no sharp pain. It's just a dull ache," Lance groaned. 

Esteban nodded and rubbed some of the cream onto the scrapes on his shoulders. He made sure that Lance was drinking the water and put the medical supplies back in their bathroom. Once it was tucked neatly back into the cabinets, Esteban turned on the bathwater to a warm temperature and wandered into their bedroom to get clean, soft clothes for Lance to wear.

Returning to the living room, he found Lance taking off his spurs and kicking his boots off. His hat lay on the coffee table, and the saddle and halter were on the ground next to the couch. Esteban didn't mind though; it wasn't unusual for there to be rodeo gear laying around the house for a bit and there was always time to clean up later.

"Come on, let's go take our bath," Esteban purred and pulled Lance off the couch, kissing the top of his head and smiling when the Canadian giggled and leaned against him.

"You're the best doctor anyone could ask for, I love you so much," Lance yawned with a grin. He let Esteban lead him into the bathroom, clumsily taking off his pants and watching Esteban get undressed too. Lance let out an appreciative whistle when Esteban slipped his jeans off, which made the Frenchman smile and roll his eyes.

Esteban stepped into the warm water and reached out to help Lance over the side of the bathtub. They sat down together, with Esteban laying back against the side of the bath and Lance sitting between his legs, leaning against his chest. Esteban smiled and wrapped an arm around Lance's waist, stroking his arm with his other hand and pressing a kiss to his neck.

Lance hummed and closed his eyes, gladly letting Esteban hold him up and enjoying the feeling of the hot water on his sore body. He put a hand over top of Esteban's on his stomach. Recovering from injuries with Esteban taking care of him was much more tolerable than if he had to go it alone, and he was alright with taking a few weeks off if it meant getting babied by his boyfriend.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep on my back tonight," Lance chuckled, laying his head back on Esteban's shoulder. 

"You can sleep on your stomach and on top of me, you know," Esteban whispered against his skin, kissing his jaw and ruffling his hair

"That sounds much more comfortable," Lance smiled and turned to capture Esteban's lips in a kiss, not minding the ache in his back as he did so.

As long as he had Esteban with him, he would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that probably nobody else cares for rodeo cowboy lance and clueless yet supportive boyfriend Esteban, but I love it and I love their dynamic and I love rodeo sports so :o) we get things like this from me sjsjdjsd
> 
> as always, you can find me on Tumblr @esteboo-ocon


End file.
